By Lee Guthrie | lguthrie@tahlequahdailypress.com Mar 13, 2024

Cherokee Nation Commerce Services established the “Innovative Hub” at the Cort Mall to help entrepreneurs succeed – and it’s open to anyone, regardless of tribal affiliation.

Funded by a grant, the Hub is a member of the Oklahoma Business Incubator Association and the International Business Incubator Association.

Ryan Harp has a space that offers entrepreneurial workshops, workspaces, and resources for early-stage businesses. He uses the services to develop his business plan and model. Harp started Harp Sports as a promotor of disc golf events.

On March 13, Harp attended “Workshop Wednesday,” a weekly event offered from 8:30-9:30 a.m. This week’s workshop featured Andrea Cull, a local knitter, who in partnership with her sister created an app to share knitting patterns.

“We like the analogy of, what it does for knitting patterns is what Google maps did for navigating,” Cull said.

The traditional knitting patterns are hard to read, and young people today have a tough time with them because the patterns haven’t changed since people started writing them down over 70 years ago, Cull said. The two sisters aimed to develop an app that helped sewing novices understand the terms and acronyms used in the patterns.

Cull and her sister began by talking to people at knitting trade shows. They asked what the crafters’ biggest struggles were in working with patterns. Before the sisters started writing the code, they figured out ways to solve the problems the knitters were having.

They tested the prototype by using people who filled out their surveys and supplied their emails. These people became the sisters’ beta testers.

“I think it’s important to know that if you aren’t good at [technology], there are other people who are good at it. You just have to really know what it is you want to accomplish [with the development of an app],” Cull said. “You have to build something people want.”

People often go into the development of an app by featuring what they want, rather than what the market wants, Cull said.

Cull told the group there were major roadblocks, one of which was the pandemic, and the other, her sister broke both of her elbows. It took about two years to complete the app, and the cost reached close to $100,000.

“You can build a website or web app for a 10th of the cost of a [phone] app,” Cull said. “If you want to write a serious [phone] app to really solve people’s problems that’s easy to use, it’s going to cost a lot of money.”

Languages for apps are different from other computer-based programs, and Apple and Google speak different languages, Cull said. One of the languages that works with both is React, and Cull said they hired a developer proficient in this language.

“If you can find someone to write [with] React you can get in both Apple and Google Store, which is what I recommend,” Cull said.

If a person wrote one in both Apple and Android language it would be much more expensive and have two code bases keep up to date.

“You probably know, when you update your phone things change. So old apps start to feel old if they are not updating their language and staying updated,” Cull said. “Once you build an app, you have to keep it updated.”

Megan White, owner of The Palms Massage and Wellness, attended the workshop to learn more about creating an app, although her company has one.

Sarah Dunlap began attending the workshops because she started a podcast five years ago and she enjoys the networking and learning about business development in general.

The Hub offers workspaces known as a “hot desk” room, pitch room with marker boards, classroom, a single private office, and boardroom. There is also a podcast studio and outdoor co-working space. All of the spaces have audio-visual equipment, access to copy machine and business supplies.